Synonyms & Antonyms for legitimate

Choose the Right Synonym for legitimate

Adjective

lawful, legal, legitimate, licit mean being in accordance with law. lawful may apply to conformity with law of any sort (such as natural, divine, common, or canon).
the lawful sovereign legal applies to what is sanctioned by law or in conformity with the law, especially as it is written or administered by the courts.
legal residents of the state legitimate may apply to a legal right or status but also, in extended use, to a right or status supported by tradition, custom, or accepted standards.
a perfectly legitimate question about taxes licit applies to a strict conformity to the provisions of the law and applies especially to what is regulated by law.
the licit use of drugs by doctors

Examples of legitimate in a Sentence

Adjective

Law books were getting thicker by the week with Supreme Court decisions barring legitimate claims because they weren't timely filed.— John Grisham, The Chamber, 1995Even in many courtrooms, where there is valid concern about the privacy of defendants, judges recognize that camera coverage serves a legitimate public interest. — New Republic, 22 Feb. 1993He was indeed already a legitimate child according to the law of Scotland, by the subsequent marriage of his parents.— Sir Walter Scott, The Heart of Mid-Lothian, 1818legitimate means for achieving success
the legitimate use of firearms
There's no legitimate reason for prescribing this medication to a child.

Verb

Which comes first, the desire to legitimate euthanasia or the nullifying of a distinction between killing and allowing to die?— Daniel Callahan, Commonweal, 2 June 2000Poland has ceased being a nation with even a pretense of Communist rule, a rule that is legitimated by Marxist ideology.— Irving Kristol, Wall Street Journal, 11 Jan. 1982 … they are more concerned with the ways in which schools and colleges legitimate and maintain inequality than with the ways they devalue and restrict personal autonomy.— Christopher Jencks, New York Times Book Review, 15 Feb. 1976
slang words legitimated by usage
Her tendency to be secretive only serves to legitimate their suspicions.

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'legitimate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Legal Definition of legitimate

(Entry 1 of 2)

1: conceived or born of parents lawfully married to each other or having been made through legal procedure equal in status to one so conceived or bornalso: having rights and obligations under the law as the child of such birth

2: being neither spurious nor false
a legitimate grievance

3: being in accordance with law or with established legal forms and requirements
a legitimate government

4: conforming to recognized principles or accepted rules and standards
a legitimate claim of entitlementa legitimate business reason